In my last life, my junior, Liana, came to me in tears, complaining that our Grandmaster was too strict, forcing her to practice five thousand sword strokes a day. I comforted her. "The Grandmaster means well. I trained just as hard, if not harder, to achieve the power I have today." But Liana fled the Argent Spire in a fit of despair and fell victim to a terrible fate. When the First Brother, Kaelen, returned from his quest, he shattered my magical core with a single strike of his blade. "Liana is a gem, precious and rare," he'd snarled. "You're a mere Core Magus. What right do you have to flaunt your power in her presence?" I was crippled, cast out, and left to die a miserable death. When I next opened my eyes, I had been reborn, returned to the very moment Liana came to my door, weeping. 1 Knock. Knock. Knock. The frantic, tearful pounding on my chamber door was relentless. "Danielle! Sister, are you in there? Please, open the door!" The disruption nearly sent my own mana spiraling out of control. With a flick of my wrist, I wove a ward of silence around the room, sealing it from the outside world. The calming scent of sandalwood incense did little to soothe the tempest raging in my mind. I am Danielle, Second Sister of the Argent Spire. Above me is only the First Brother, Kaelen, a man who cares for nothing but his own path to power. Before our Grandmaster entered her seclusion for her final ascension, she charged me with managing the Spire's disciples, and especially with looking after the youngest of us, Liana. That was why, in my past life, I had tolerated Liana’s rude, frantic knocking—an act that would have cost any other acolyte half their life force for its sheer disrespect. But I had excused her, thinking her new to the ways of magic. I had even tried to soothe her when she’d complained about the Grandmaster's harsh training, sharing my own story as a form of encouragement. "When I first joined the Spire, the Grandmaster was even stricter with me," I'd told her. "Eight thousand strokes a day, every single one perfect, or I would feel the sting of her training rod. Before I had even formed my magical foundation as an Adept, she pitted me against arcane beasts that had." "So you see, little sister, she does it for your own good. Look at me. It was that same grueling practice that gave me the power I have today." But after hearing my words, Liana had simply gotten up and run from the Spire. She was captured by a chaos mage, nearly drained of her soul to become his spiritual conduit. Though she was rescued, her magical affinity was damaged, and she burned with a deep-seated hatred for me. When Kaelen returned from his quest, he shattered my core. "Liana is a gem," he’d said. "What right do you have to flaunt your power as a Core Magus?" Only then did I understand. My heartfelt advice, my attempt at camaraderie, had sounded like nothing but arrogant boasting to a girl who was not even a full-fledged Initiate. All the torture that followed began with those simple, well-intentioned words. I, who had sought nothing but the path to true power and ascension, was tormented and killed for a single sentence. Perhaps it was the unquenchable fire of my rage that granted me this second chance. The knocking outside continued for a long time before Liana finally gave up. Biting her lip, she turned and ran sobbing toward the training grounds, straight into the arms of Rhys. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. "Third Brother…" Rhys’s heart immediately melted. "Little sister, what’s wrong?" Liana's tears finally fell in a torrent of aggrieved sorrow. "Before she went into seclusion, the Grandmaster ordered me to practice five thousand sword strokes a day. I only managed five hundred today, and my wrist is already swollen like this. Look, Brother." She pulled up her sleeve, revealing a bruised and purpled wrist. Rhys was instantly furious. "How could the Grandmaster be so cruel!" He lovingly applied a healing salve to her wrist. "She's in seclusion anyway. It won't matter if you rest for a couple of days. Besides, with your brother here to protect you, what do you have to fear?" Liana pouted. "But Second Sister Danielle is the same age as me, and she’s already a Core Magus. I haven’t even solidified my foundation as an Adept. I'm so useless." Rhys scoffed. "You are a princess, cherished and adored. She was just an orphan the Grandmaster found in the wastes. How could she possibly compare to you?" A smile finally broke through Liana’s tears, though she feigned annoyance and gave Rhys a playful tap. "Don't talk about my sister that way." 2 I had no desire to watch any more of this cloying display. I withdrew my arcane senses, a coldness settling in my heart. So that was the correct answer. Coddle her, praise her, and never mind the consequences for her future. The injury on Liana’s wrist looked dramatic, but what blade-mage didn't start their training with such pains? Those were not wounds to be healed; they were pains to be overcome. One had to train until the wrist adapted, until the pain ceased. To stop halfway was to reset all progress. But Rhys was a pure enchanter, a weaver of spells. He knew nothing of a warrior’s path. In my previous life, after my core was shattered, it was he who used his magic to rip out my arcane roots and graft them onto Liana, restoring her damaged potential. He had turned me into a cripple, forever barred from the path of magic. All because of one sentence. They had justified using me as a stepping stone for Liana's glorious ascent. A bottomless hatred churned within me. Every person who had harmed me, who had tormented me in my past life… I would repay them all, one by one. I replayed the events of my past life in meticulous detail. My hand unconsciously drifted to the amulet I wore against my skin. It was a spatial artifact I had found in the Fae-touched Grotto of Taelus. Though I had bonded it with my blood, I could never enter its inner sanctum, the Hall of Legacy. Only an outer spring, filled with pure mana, was accessible to me. I focused my will and entered the amulet's space, leaping into the mana spring. The raw, surging energy slammed into me, scouring my meridians, widening them. The pain was so intense I nearly blacked out, but I gritted my teeth and endured. My rate of mana absorption was now ten times faster than before. In my past life, I had listened to the words of a Nix, drinking only a single mouthful of the spring's water each day. It improved my constitution, yes, but it was nowhere near enough to truly reforge my body and soul. My progress had been slow. After emerging from the amulet, I went into seclusion for another two weeks, solidifying my newfound power before finally stepping outside. I went to the deep pool in the back mountains and cast three enchanted stones into its depths. The water roiled, and a Nix with a magnificent blue tail surfaced. His beauty was breathtaking, but his eyes were filled with impatience. He swam to my side, his voice a low hiss. "Danielle, are you trying to get me killed? What took you so long to bring my elixir?" This was Corin, a Nix I had rescued from the Taelus Grotto. I had pulled him back from the brink of death with the finest potions, allowing him to recuperate here. Every month, I was to bring him a high-grade spirit elixir for his wounds. I smiled. "Corin, your temper grows shorter. The herbs for these potions are rare, and a spirit elixir of this grade is not easily brewed." Seeing his entitled expression, I remembered the day I first met him. He had clutched at my robes, his face a mask of agony, begging me to save him. He had sworn to be my servant for life, to be eternally loyal. But at some point, he had entangled himself with Liana. He had even presented her with my amulet as a token of his love. I was cast out of the Spire, left with absolutely nothing. Just as I had before, I took out an elixir and offered it to him. Only this time, it was a poison that would rot his heart and lungs from the inside out. 3 The Nix thrashed in the water, his agony immense, before dragging himself onto the shore with his powerful tail. His handsome face was contorted in a grotesque mask of pain, blood streaming from his eyes, nose, and ears. His eyes were wide with disbelief. "Why? Why are you killing me?" he gasped. "Save me, Danielle… you just grabbed the wrong potion, right? Danielle, it hurts so much." Corin reached a trembling hand toward me, his brilliant blue eyes shimmering with tears, a picture of vulnerable devotion. His beautiful tail was sliced open on the sharp rocks, blue blood seeping into the cracks. It was a tragically beautiful sight. "The ward on the Hall of Legacy inside the amulet," I said, my voice calm. "It can only be broken with the heart's blood of a Nix. Corin, you played me for a fool for so long." His expression froze. He choked back his pain. "How… how did you know?" "I took pity on your weakness and never forced a magical bond of servitude," I explained slowly. "And you, knowing full well how to unlock the amulet’s true power, only ever told me to bond it with my blood." In my last life, when I was a cripple, he came to see me. I thought he was there to save me. Instead, he reached out, took the amulet from my neck, and smirked, glad he had been clever enough to hold back. He had scoffed at the life-debt he owed me, yet he gave himself completely to the delicate Liana, even offering his own heart's blood to help her enter the Hall of Legacy. He’d feared she was too weak to be alone, so he voluntarily bonded himself to her as a servant, to protect her at all times. So thoughtful, so considerate in every way. Meanwhile, I was cast out, a dog without a home. So now, watching Corin's dying struggles, the more he suffered, the more my heart soared with grim satisfaction. Seeing my resolve, he roared in fury. "I only kept it from you so I could survive! Besides, you had the mana spring, wasn't that enough?" He was nearly spent, but he clung to a last shred of hope. "Save me, Danielle. When I’m healed, I’ll help you open the Hall. I promise." "No," I said. "When you're healed, you'll be running to Liana's side. You swore a magical oath to be my servant, yet you lied to me from the very beginning. You were never loyal." I picked up one of his fallen scales. Under his desperate, helpless gaze, I sliced open his chest. "The disloyal die." 4 The Nix's heart's blood soaked the amulet, and I entered its space. The ward on the Hall of Legacy shattered. A vast, ancient power washed over me, a pressure so immense it sought to force me to my knees. My legs felt as if they were made of lead, but I gritted my teeth and took one step, then another. This was my destiny, my opportunity, stolen from me by Liana in my past life. I, with my brilliant talent and bright future, had suffered through twenty years of bitter training and dozens of life-or-death trials just to become a Core Magus. Liana had been at the Spire for a mere three years and had danced upon my corpse to become an Archon. I had given everything to the Spire, sacrificing my own training time to teach the disciples in the Grandmaster's stead, brewing potions and elixirs for my brothers and sisters. And what did I get in return? The horrors of my past life flashed before my eyes. I clenched my fists. This life, I would live for myself! The great doors to the Hall of Legacy swung open, and the pressure vanished. Feeling light, I strode inside. There were eight sealed chambers within. In the center of the hall, a dull bronze sword floated in the air above a bronze statue of a god-like figure. This was the legacy of Aethelgard, the First Blade, a swordsman whose power had been unrivaled for millennia. In my past life, my First Brother, Kaelen, had ascended to near-godhood after finding just a fragment of Aethelgard's teachings. The bronze sword drifted toward me, hovering before my eyes. I grasped its hilt. A divine light exploded in my mind, and the translucent, white-robed image of a man whose face I could not see appeared. His voice was a deep, divine hum. "After so many long years, one has finally arrived who is… moderately acceptable." Before a true god, all mortals are but ants. I was drenched in sweat under his divine pressure, barely able to stand upright. "You have more backbone than the last one, at least." Aethelgard continued, "I once favored you, but a parasite interfered. Now, you have been given a second chance. Do not disappoint me again." With a flick of his finger, Aethelgard sent a sphere of memory into my consciousness. Only then did I understand the full truth of my past life. I thought my tragedy began with a single misunderstood sentence. But Liana had been filled with malice toward me from the very start. She was a transmigrator from another world, armed with a System. For every man she successfully seduced, she would be rewarded with a piece of my destiny, my power, my very life. I had felt guilty when she was captured by the chaos mage, but it turned out she had already "conquered" him, getting him to deliberately damage her magical affinity to gain more sympathy. This allowed her to manipulate the other men into tormenting me without mercy. The girl I thought was innocent and pure was a leech, fastened to my soul, draining me dry. I had treated her with such sincerity, and she had consumed me, flesh and bone. My rage nearly sent me into a berserker fury, but Aethelgard's voice called me back. "Calm your heart." "Everything in this Hall is yours to use. But only when you ascend to the higher realms will you be worthy of being called my disciple." His image faded, but the divine power lingered in the air. I bowed to the empty space. "I will not fail you, my lord." 5 I spent six months mastering Aethelgard's sacred arts, only stepping out of my chambers once my power had stabilized. In front of the Hall of Trials, a crowd of disciples surrounded a beaming Liana, showering her with praise. "Little Sister, you're amazing! You're only a fifth-tier Initiate, and you've already tamed a Frost Serpent! Incredible!" A small, snow-white serpent was coiled around her wrist, biting its own tail to form a living bracelet. Liana blushed prettily. "It was all thanks to Third Brother. I just mentioned that the little snake was cute, and he took me to tame it." Rhys, standing beside her, smiled faintly. "It is merely an Adept-level creature. One day, when I am an Ascendant who has passed the Trials, I will pluck a phoenix from the heavens for you to play with." The crowd erupted in cheers. I let out a cold laugh. Both Rhys and Liana turned to look at me, and the other disciples quickly scrambled to look busy, feigning practice with their swords. "Our brother is certainly ambitious," I said. "He hasn't even reached the level of an Archon, yet he's already planning for his time as an Ascendant." Rhys’s brow furrowed in surprise. "It's only been six months. You're a mid-tier Core Magus?" Before I could answer, Liana rushed toward me with open arms. I blocked her with my sword. She stared at me with wide, innocent eyes that seemed on the verge of tears. "Sister, I just haven't seen you in so long, I wanted to be close to you. I didn't think you would despise me so." I sheathed my sword and walked around her. "I do not enjoy physical contact." As I passed, I heard the voice of the System in her mind. [Primary Target Corin: Deceased. Spatial Amulet must be retrieved by Host.] I scanned her with my arcane senses but couldn't find a trace of the System. It must be hidden within her consciousness. Liana quickly moved to block my path, her face a mask of shock. "Sister, that amulet on your chest… it looks just like the one my mother left me before she died. But I was foolish and lost it somewhere." I glanced down. The amulet, which I kept tucked against my skin, was somehow visible. She stared at it, her voice breaking. "I'm so useless. I couldn't even keep my mother's only memento safe." I saw the shifting expressions on the faces of the disciples around us and smiled. Liana had all but branded the word "thief" on my forehead. "You are indeed foolish," I said calmly. Liana's eyes widened, as if she'd misheard. "What?" I repeated myself. "I said you are foolish, stupid, weak, and utterly useless." My gaze swept over the assembled disciples. Not one of them dared to meet my eyes. "In this entire Spire, you are the only one still at the Initiate level. Disciples who joined after you have already become Adepts. Tell me, does that not make you a standard-issue fool?" Liana's body trembled violently, and tears streamed down her face. Rhys stepped in front of her, his voice a low command. "Danielle, that's enough! Liana is delicate. It's normal for her to take longer to adapt. To speak so cruelly over a simple amulet—is this how a senior sister should act?" From behind him, Liana offered a "kind" explanation. "Sister, I know you didn't take the amulet on purpose, but it's the only thing I have to remember my mother by. Here, I'll trade you. Take the Grandmaster's gift to me, the Gossamer Butterfly Robes." Rhys looked pained. "Sister, how can you debase yourself like this? It's clearly…" "Third Brother, please, say no more. The Gossamer Butterfly Robes may be a superior-grade artifact, but in my heart, they are not worth a fraction of my mother's memory." "The amulet is a memento from her mother, Danielle," Rhys said, turning to me and holding out his hand expectantly. "I suggest you return it to her, and we can let this matter drop." The two of them, a perfectly rehearsed duet. I narrowed my eyes. "Who do you think you're talking to?"
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